Telegraph-recorder.



Pa'tenfed Apr. 2, 1901.

G. L. FDOTE.

TELEGRAPH RECORDER.

(Application fllud Jan. 29} 1898.) (No modem 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 67!,046. 1 Patented Abr. 2, mm.

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TELEGRAPH RECORDER.

*(Appliuiion filedJn-n. 29, 1898.)

mi Model.) 2 Shceis-Sheat 2.

: l [73 515- 5 IfibfIZtOi I {6 I G'earqe Li'aqzc W M Attorney GEORGE L. FOOTE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSTGNOR- TO HIMSELF, H. G. PIERSON, AND CHARLES FREEMANN, OOPARTNERS UNDER THE FIRM NAME OF FOOTE, PIERSON AND COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

TELEGRAPH-RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 671,046, dated April 2, 1901.

Application filed January 29, 1898. Serial No. 668,414. (No model.)

To all whoin it may concern:

Be it known that l, GEORGE L. FOOTE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telegraph-Record ers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to telegraph registers or recorders, and more particularly to instruments adapted for use in fire-alarm or districttelegraph or other systems wherein the signals or messages are to be read from dots or marks of substantially uniform length, but varying in number and grouping.

The main object of my invention is to insure by simple means the production of marks of the same length and irrespeotively of variations in the length of time during which the circuit is opened or closed for the produotion of each element of the signal.

The practical effect secured by my invention is that even if the individual closures or breaks of circuit vary greatly in duration and sufficiently, in fact, to produce dashes and dots in an ordinary register they would in my improved register produce only a succession of marks of the same or uniform length.

The invention is applicable to those forms of recorder in which the writing-lever carries a press that operates to lift the paper against the printing-roll, as well as to those in' which the press itself constitutes the marking roll or device, so as to mark the paper when brought into contact with the same by the writing-lever.

In this specification and the claims the term press is used as including both these'forms of recorder, though the invention will be described as carried out in connection with the first-named form. 1

My invention consists, substantially, in mounting the press movably upon the writing lever and automatically feeding it away from writing or marking position. By this means I am enabled to determine or graduate the length of the mark independently of the operation of the writing-lever, whose movement in the ordinary form of instrument alone determines the length of the mark.

To conveniently carry out my invention, I

prefer to use a press the extent of whose operating-surface is abridged or curtailed in the direction of the length of the mark to be mgtde instead of being continuous, as in the case of the ordinary marking or press wheel, so that the end of the mark will be continuous with the end of the said operating-surface as the press is fed along with the blank or strip to be marked.

To feed the press out of marking engagement with the blank or strip,I preferto depend upon the frictional engagement of the press and moving strip or blank, although it might be fed by other means engaged directly or indirectly with said press when the latter is held by the writing-lever in marking position.

My invention consists, further, in a press whose operating surface or face is arc-shaped and in pivotally mounting said arc-shaped or segmental press upon the writinglever.

My invention consists also in the details and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is shown as applied to a register or recorder of the usual type; but the details of feed devices, operating mechanism, starting devices, 850. will be omitted from the description, as they form no part of my present invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show the press, on an enlarged scale, in three positions. Fig. 5 shows a modification of the spring device for giving a snap action. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show, on an enlarged scale, the three positions of a modified form of the invention, wherein the press instead of reciprocating turns always in the same direction. Fig. 9 shows the press as mounted directly on the armature-lever and operating on normally open circuit.

A is the base of the instrument, B the usual operating-electromagnet, and E the armaturelever of said electromagnet. O is the writinglever, actuated by said magnet in any desired Way and pivoted at d in any proper manner. The writing-lever in the present case is shown as separate from the armature-lever, but operatively connected therewith by a yoke F,

carried by the rear end of the armature-lever and in the shape of a spool, between whose heads lies the tail of the writing-lever. The spool may be mounted as a nut, adjustable to vary the position of the press with relation to the paper strip.

H is the press; I, the usual printing wheel or roll, inked in the usual way and against which the paper strip P is moved when a mark is to be made thereon. The press H at its surface where it engages the paper is in the form of an arc of a circle, the'length of which practically determines the length of paper strip that shall be pressed against the marking-wheel I, and is pivotally mounted on the writing-lever O at K.

Assuming that the instrument shown is operating on normally open circuit, the writinglever would be in normally-lifted position, as shown in Fig. 2, with the press turned away from position to engage the paper and held there by means of aspring N, mounted upon the writing-lever and operating upon a pin h, carried by the press. When the circuit is closed, the writing-lever is first depressed into the position shown in Fig. 3, carrying the press down with it and causing the heel of the latter to engage with an adjustable stop L, whereby the press is turned back into the position shown in said figure, which is the position to cause it to engage with the paper when again raised into position shown in Fig. 4c. In this position itis temporarily held by the spring, as indicated. When the circuit is broken, the writing-lever is raised, as shown in Fig. 4, and the press brings the paper against the marking-wheel and retains itv there while the press is fed over in the direction of the arrow until finally the rear end of its operating-face clears the paper. The length of the mark is therefore practically determined by the length of said are. At the instant that the end of the arc is reached a quick or snap action of the press into the position shown in Fig. 2 is produced by means of a spring or other device, so as to prevent any tailing out of the mark at itsend. This snap action may be produced by the spring N, as shown, the pin H being so arranged that it will at the required instant pass onto the curve or incline at the end of the writinglever, as shown, and be allowed to move freely under the effect of the spring. The same result might be secured by means of a spring N, as indicated in Fig. 5, arranged to act on first one side and then the other of the center or pivotal point of support of the press, according to the position of the said press. Spring N being so arranged that the strain will pass over the center just as the end of the arc should leave the paper, a quick or snap movement will be produced and tailing prevented.

To adjust the length of the mark, an adj ustable stop M may be mounted in the writinglever and limit the movement of the press under the action of the stop L when the latter is engaged by the heel of the press. By raising the adjusting-screw M it is obvious that the arc of the press will travel a less distance than before to clear the paper. The press may be fed or moved in any desired way by devices engaged by the lifting of the writing-lever to produce the mark; but by preference I depend upon the frictional engagement of the paper itself with the surface of the are.

When the device is arranged and operated as above described-that is to say, with the writingdever normally raised or in position such that with the ordinaryinstru menta mark would be produced-it will be seen that any momentary action of the magnet sufficient to secure a full movement of the writing-lever to and fro will result in producing a mark of the desired predeterminedlength; buttheobjects of my invention may also be secured by operating the device with the writing-lever normally depressed or in the position shown in Fig. 3. In this case, however, it would be necessary to so speed the action of the driving mechanism that it would with certainty accom plish .the feed of the paper and press and complete the mark within the minimum time during which the writing-lever is held lifted. Subject to this limitation, it is obvious that, as before, variations in the period during which the writing-lever is held lifted or the circuit is held open or closed would not affect the length of mark.

The instrument shown in Figs. lto 4 being operated on normally-closed circuit, the writing-lever would normally stand as in Fig. 3. At the instant of the break of circuit the lever would assume the position shown in Fig. 4, the paper and press would feed, and the mark be produced, the device finally assuming automatically the position shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter the closure of circuit would restore the writing-lever to the normal position. (Shown in Fig.

Fig. 9 shows the press pivoially mounted directly upon the armature-lever,which itself then constitutes the writing-lever. If the apparatus be operated on normally open circuit, the normal position of the parts would be as shown in Fig. 9 and the action would be the same as with the instrument of Fig. 1, operated on normally-closed circuit; but each closure of circuit would have to be long enough to permit the automatic feed and completion of the mark. Variations in the period of closure beyond such time would produce no effect. If the instrument, Fig. 9, be operated on normally-closed circuit, the position of the writing-lever and press would be normally as in Fig. 2, and any interruption of the circuit, no matter how short, if sufficient to produce a full down-andup movement would cause a mark of the proper length.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 a form of the invention is shown in which instead of one press a number of the same are used and they are moved continuously in the same direction, so as to successively operate upon the paper. The press is mounted pivotally, as before, so as to turn upon the Writing-lever O, and is provided with a number of pins H corresponding in number to the number of presses. The pins are engaged in succession by the spring N, and the snap or quick movement of the press is produced by the pin passing under the bend in the end of the spring, as shown. In the position shown in Fig. 6, with the writing-lever raised, the press is prevented from turning under the action of the spring by the engagement of the pin with the nose of a spring-pawl S; but as the writinglever is lowered to the position shown in Fig. 7 the pin is forced by thenose and under the edge of the fork. When the Writing-lever is raised, the pin is obstructed by the pawl and the press in rising with the writing-lever is caused to turn on its pivot and to bring the arc of the press into the position indicated in Fig. 8. The press then turns and produces the mark, bringing the next pin H under the spring N, until finally as the end of the arc leaves the paper the spring by a quick or snap movement forces the parts into the position shown in Fig. 6.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a telegraph register or recorder, a writing-lever a press movably mounted upon the writing-lever, and means for feeding it away from writing or marking position while the writing-lever remains in position to record the signal.

2. In a telegraph register or recorder, the combination of a writing-lever, an actuatingelectromagnet therefor and a press Whose operative surface is limited in the direction of thelength of mark and adapted to be automatically fed away from marking position in the direction of the length of marking while the writing-lever remains in position to re cord the signal.

3. In a telegraph register or recorder, the combination of a writing-lever, an actuatingelectromagnet therefor and a press movably mounted on the writing-lever and adapted to be fed out of marking position by frictional engagement with the paper or surface to be marked.

4. In a telegraph-recorder, the combination of a press having a segmental or arc-shaped operating-surface and adapted to travel with the paper, and an electromagnet for bringing said press into and out of contact with the paper.

5. In a telegraph-recorder, a pivoted oscillating press adapted to travel with the paper combined with means for adjusting its throw.

6. In a telegraph-recorder, the combination with the writinglever of a press pivotally supported upon said lever and a spring for giving the press a quick or snap action at the end of the mark.

7. In a telegraph-recorder, the combination with the writing-lever of a press pivotally mounted upon the lever and standing normally turned out of position for marking, in combination with means for turning it to position for marking when the writing-lever is actuated.

8. In a telegraph-recorder the combination with the writing-lever, of a pivotally-mounted press normally standing turned away from position for marking and normally supported in raised position by said lever and means for turning the press to position for marking in the operation of lowering and raisingit by the writing-lever.

9. In a telegraph-recorder, a press having an arc'shaped operatingsnrface, a writinglever on which said press is pivotally mounted innormally-raised position or position suitable for marking but turned away from position to engage the paper, and means for turn: ing the same on its pivot into position for marking when lowered and again lifted to normally-raised position.

10. In a telegraph registeror recorder, the combination with a writing-lever normally raised, of a press movably mounted thereon, and means for holding the press away from the paper while the writing-lever is raised and for bringing it into position to mark and be moved with the paper upon the lowering and raising of the writing-lever.

11. In a telegraph register or recorder, the combination with a writing-lever and a press movably mounted on said lever and having an operating-surface of length limited by the length of mark to be produced, of means for engaging and moving said press on the writing-lever when the latter is operated.

Signed at the city of NeWYork,in the county of New York and State of New York, this 17th day of January, 1898.

GEORGE 'L. FOOTE.

Witnesses:

O. L. BELOHER, WM. H. OAPEL. 

